Galloway police arrest woman, 48, in three robberies at same Smithville CVS

A township woman has been arrested in a string of armed robberies at the Smithville CVS, police said Thursday.

The store was robbed Thursday morning for the third time in recent weeks and the description of the suspect has been a woman matching the same description each time.

On Thursday afternoon, Sgt. Donna Higbee arrested Deborah Conover, 48, who was charged with three counts of armed robbery, which include robberies at the same North New York Road CVS on Dec. 29 and Jan. 8.

Police said in a news release that at approximately 9:48 a.m., police responded to the CVS for an armed robbery.

Store personnel said a woman entered the store, walked to the pharmacy counter, demanded pills and money, and displayed what appeared to be a handgun inside a plastic bag. Store employees said the woman then fled the store.

K-9 Officer Kevin Welsh and his K-9 partner Titan, along with other officers and detectives, completed a search of the immediate area near the store. Police said a scent track picked up during the search led to the Waterview Drive, Building 21 where a suspect, who matched the woman's description, was located. Conover was taken into custody without incident and taken to the Galloway Township Police Department for processing, police said.

Thursday afternoon, a sign was posted outside of the store saying it would be closed until further notice.

Margie Foster, of Smithville, was outside trying to check on her daughter, who works at the CVS. Foster had spoken with her daughter on the phone.

"She said they have had security on at night, because it's happened twice at night, and they haven't had security on during the day, so it's somebody who knows the store, I'm sure," Foster said.

Foster's daughter was working in the aisle at the time of the robbery, Foster said.

Conover is in the Atlantic County jail in default of $250,000 cash bail, a news release said.